This invention relates to a nut starter with special features. In particular the present invention is specifically intended for the handling and starting of nuts or other threaded sleeves or members onto screw-type fasteners and other threaded members.
In many operations involving handling and starting of nuts, it has been found extremely difficult, if not impossible, to hold the nut in place in a particular relationship with a screw or threaded member, while at the same time imparting a rotary motion to the nut so that it can be threaded onto the threaded member. One reason for this difficulty is lack of access space for the hands and fingers or at times, the small size of the nut. Similar problems have been encountered in connection with starting of screws where various devices have been developed which will temporarily secure the screw on the head of a screwdriver. To solve these problems, screw starters, such as are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,184 and others as in recently filed U.S. Application Ser. No. 519.789, filed Aug. 3, 1983, now abandoned, Applicant Robert K. Simcox entitled Screw Starter For Screws Having Cross-Cut, Recessed Head Socket And Other Openings, have been developed.
While nut starting devices have been heretofore proposed, most of such prior nut starters suffer from the disadvantage that the nut is not visible to the eye and thus additional problems are introduced. There is a nut starter as show in U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,025 where the nut is visible to the eye. Such nut starter possesses an axial extension with a rounded leading end and wherein the axial extension has a length of about one and one half times the mean diameter of the axial extension for insertion into the central opening of a nut. In such a device the axial extension frictionally engages a portion of the internal threading of the nut. While the nut starter of U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,025 has been of value, it has suffered from several disadvantages including the fact of being limited for use with a very narrow range of nut openings. Also, the axial extension of such nut starter makes sliding contact with certain internal threads of the nut and hence has somewhat of an abrasive action upon such internal threads.